The March elections for the Democratic State Central Committee and the subsequent vote, if needed, for the next chairman, aren’t necessarily being guided by Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards, the first Democratic governor elected in Louisiana in 12 years.
By most accounts, Edwards is not going to be a shot-caller for the Louisiana Democratic Party nor will he be any kind of figurehead, according to those close to the party and the next governor. This matches up with the approaches of previous Democratic governors; Edwin Edwards was never a party infrastructure man and Kathleen Blanco was involved with the party apparatus only from a distance.
The central committee is the guiding body for the Louisiana Democratic Party and its members are elected from districts around the state. Qualifying was conducted in December.
State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson of New Orleans is the incumbent chairwoman who will seek re-election in April after the new DSCC is elected in March. She faces no organized opposition yet, but there are factions of the party still unhappy that she unseated former chairman Buddy Leach in 2012 by 10 votes.
If opposition does surface, it’ll come from that area, sitting DSCC members believe, with all of those interviewed noting they’ve not been contacted about voting for anyone else. Gov.-elect Edwards has not taken a stance on Peterson’s re-election as chair, but he also doesn’t seem to be personally working against her, either.
Edwards, of course, cannot completely ignore party politics, which means he’ll need a political director of sorts — someone who can focus on politics as the governor-elect moves his policy agenda.
The closest thing he has had to that comes in a pair, starting with state Rep. Sam Jones of Franklin, who is returning to the House and to the DSCC, and Mary-Patricia Wray, who is leaving the transition team to turn her attention back to her lobbying and consulting firm Top Drawer Strategies.
In an interview Jones said Edwards wouldn’t burden himself with politics as governor and would likely seek advice when needed from several different sources.
“The party needs to get back to the center, from wherever it is,” Jones said. “It needs to reflect a governor who is center to right on most issues, center to left on others.”In the House, Edwards not only leaves his seat behind but also the chairmanship of the Democratic Caucus. Right now the leading contender appears to be Rep. Gene Reynolds of Minden.Holden fielding interest for federal run With Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden leaving office next year, and following his runoff defeat for lieutenant governor, supporters are encouraging him to run for something else in 2016.
One of the possibilities is the 2nd Congressional District, which picks up parts of the Baton Rouge region. That would pit Holden against New Orleans Congressman Cedric Richmond, the delegation’s only Democrat.
Asked about the potential of such a matchup, Holden offered “no comment” through a spokesperson. Those close to the mayor add he’s being encouraged to consider several different possibilities for his future. Other congressional races shaping upIn the 4th Congressional District that’s being vacated by Congressman John Fleming of Minden as he prepares to run for the U.S. Senate, several names are cropping up.
State Rep. Jim Morris, a Republican businessman with oil and gas interests, said he is considering running in “It’s something we’re looking into. We’re taking a glance at it,” Morris told LaPolitics. “I haven’t even been sworn into the last seat I ran for and I’m focused on that right now.” Morris said he’ll have a final decision to announce after the first of the year.
“I don’t want to get in the way of others who are interested,” he said.
Freshman state Rep. Mike Johnson is expected to announce early next year and Rocky Rockett, Bossier City’s economic development chair, is being encouraged to run. So is former Shreveport mayor Keith Hightower, the only Democrat in the developing field so far, but it’s viewed as unlikely.
In the 3rd District, which Congressman Charles Boustany of Lafayette is also abandoning to run for the U.S. Senate in 2016, there are even more names in the developing field. The latest to surface belongs to state Rep. Stuart Bishop, who has the personal finances to jumpstart a media-based campaign. Bishop said he has not made up his mind and is being encouraged to run by voters in the district and his donor base.
Should he run, it would partly be a race of legislators and former legislators. Two other outgoing lawmakers, Rep. Brett Geymann of Lake Charles, who has already started campaigning, and Sen. Elbert Guillory of Opelousas, who is merely flirting at this point, are both part of the mix.
Lafayette Parish School Board Member Erick Knezek is meeting with supporters and looks to be a candidate in the developing race and retired Army Lt. Col. Greg Ellison, the general manager of Kitty Hawk Energy, appears to be in the beginning stages of a potential run as well.They Said It“He has to keep people from panicking.”—Treasurer John Kennedy, on his advice to Gov-elect John Bel Edwards on how to deal with low oil prices
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